Soldiers at Fort Jackson. Image via The New York Times.

The Army has long had rigorous fitness requirements, but today new recruits need to shape up more than ever. The top reason recruits are rejected by the Army is because they are overweight. “What we were finding was that the soldiers we’re getting in today’s Army are not in as good shape as they used to be,” Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told The New York Times. “This is not just an Army issue. This is a national issue.” The problem the Army is facing reflects the rise of obesity in America.

This year, the Army has rolled out a new fitness program, designed to get recruits in shape. The new fitness regime has incorporated exercises from yoga and pilates, and is de-emphasizing old staples of Army physical training, like long runs and sit-ups. The new program is in use at five training posts, and has 145,000 participants.

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It seems that these days Madonna makes the news more about her workouts than her music career. No matter what you think of the one-time Material Girl and queen of pop radio, one thing she hasn’t done is let herself go.

Along with Gwyneth Paltrow and other high-profile celebrities, Madonna spent some time with celebrity trainer Tracey Anderson. But it ended up in a public “break-up,” and Madonna parted ways with Anderson.
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Serena Williams is not just one of the world’s premiere female tennis stars, she is also one of the strongest women in the sport. She’s certainly not a lean, slim player, but her entire physique speaks volumes about strength and fitness. Tennis is, after all, a game of speed, strength and endurance, and Serena has mastered all three.

A knee injury from 2004 and a bad hamstring have long hampered her running, and she freely admits that she does not enjoy cardio work, both factors which probably have contributed to her less-than-lean build. Serena has said, “I hate working out more than anything, but I have to — when I’m running, I think about how much I want to win. That’s the only thing that keeps me going.”

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Pilates has become increasingly popular in the fitness world with both men and women. Pilates is a fitness system developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. It focuses on core postural muscles, as well as proper breathing and correct spinal alignment.

The most common machine used for Pilates is the “reformer,” which was designed to provide finely tuned resistance exercises for the body as a whole. It focuses on proper alignment, core stability, and total body flexibility.

Pilates is great before, during and after pregnancy. It is beneficial during the pregnancy process due to the isolation of the core.
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It’s amazing what a mere ten-pound weight loss can do for a person’s appearance. It’s a striking difference on 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan who admits to losing 10 pounds in two weeks by using Nutrisystem.

Tracy’s motivation was purely health. He says he’s a diabetic and the Nutrisystem program has been great for managing the disease. “I’m not obese or anything, but I wanted to come down off the weight and lower my blood pressure,” he told Us Weekly.

Tracy says he eats anything he wants on the program, admitting to cheating sometimes with hot dogs and cheeseburgers. He likes Nutrisystem’s nutrition bars, as well as Cheerios, Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran.
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